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The God Who Is
The Gap Theory
Christians are commanded to "earnestly contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3), but many Christians are the most accommodating people in the world. Take, for example, the so-called "Gap" Theory which has been popularized by Dr. C. I. Scofield and by the Bible that bears his name.
In his day, the theory of evolution was quickly adopted by the ungodly. But instead of denouncing it as the pagan doctrine that it is, many Christians were unwilling to be stigmatized as being "ignorant," and attempted to accommodate this godless system with the Word of God.
HISTORICALLY CONSIDERED
Throughout history, Genesis chapter 1, verse 2 has been translated as it is still found in the King James Version: "And the earth was without form and void." Dr. Scofield sought to "correct" the Bible and translated it, "And the earth became without form and void." In this way the "scholarly" theory of evolution could be made to fit between verse one and verse two. The Hebrew word "tohu" is translated "without form" and means the face of the earth was not sculptured. The Hebrew word "bohu" is properly translated "empty," or "void." The Septuagint translated the words "unsightly", "unfinished" because the creation was not yet perfect since it was not complete.
Fifty years before the Authorized or King James Version of the Bible (1611), the Geneva Bible of 1560 translated the verse, "The earth was without form and void." Calvin translated it "shapeless, and empty."
"REPLENISH THE EARTH"
In order to lend credence to their altering the sense of the text, so-called "theistic evolutionists" have pointed to verse 28 which reads, "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, `Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth.'" They affirm this means that the creation of Genesis chapter one was intended to "refill" the former creation that had gone awry.
If the reader picks up any reputable dictionary, he or she will find the word "replenish" means "to supply what is lacking." There were no creatures in the earth except for Adam and Eve, and the animals God had created. An alternate definition is "to finish" or "to complete." Both the Hebrew and the Greek words are therefore translated "fill." The Geneva Bible translated the phrase "fill the earth," as does the New American Standard Version.
VERIFICATION
But does the Bible teach the face of the earth was not as yet sculptured? In Psalm 90, in verse 2, we read, "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hast formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God." The psalmist declares "(The waters) go up by the mountains: they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them" (Psalm 104:8). The meaning here is that the mountains rose, and the valleys sank. Consider the case of Peleg who was so named because "in his days was the earth divided" (Genesis 10:25). The animals and birds of the earth were thus divided when the earth separated into continents.
SIGNIFICATION
Several vital doctrines are affected by the manner in which we exegete Genesis chapter 1, verse 2. Most people who have espoused the "Gap" Theory have not given much thought to the fact that the Theory denies the Fourth Commandment which says, "in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is" (Exodus 20:11). Second, the so-called "Gap" Theory repudiates the doctrines of the Federal Headship of Adam, and of the origin of Death. It is the testimony of Scripture that "by man came death" (I Corinthians 15:21; Romans 8:20-22; 5:12). Paul declares the first man was Adam; and that Death is the result of his sin (I Corinthians 15:45). Third, there is not one verse in God's Word that teaches Satan was associated with the earth before the creation of man.
People espouse the "Gap" Theory because they have not considered how greatly it contradicts the Bible. Reader, beware of the awesome price of attempting to harmonize the Word of God with the thoughts of unbelievers. Such accommodations can only be made with the greatest of danger to the text of Scripture, and therefore to the souls of men.